Kentucky Juvenile Stakes Offers Graded Black Type to 2-Year-Olds

The Kentucky Juvenile Stakes (gr. III) to be run April 30
at Churchill Downs offers the first shot at serious black-type for 2-year-olds, and as such we
thought it interesting to have a look at the TrueNick ratings for a field of
stakes contenders that have yet to earn black type.

Topping the likely runners with an A++ rating is Mission Impazible, a son of Unbridled's Song (TrueNicks,SRO)
, and the Hold
Your Peace mare La Paz. A half-brother to graded winners Forest Camp and
Spanish Empire, Mission Impazible is bred on a similar cross to recently-retired one-time Kentucky Derby prospect Old Fashioned. His dam, a multiple
stakes winner, scored over 4 1/2 furlongs, and the granddam was a 2-year-old stakes
winner at five furlongs, so this is a pedigree that has both speed and class.

Gator Prowl, who is rated A+, is by Roar of the Tiger (TrueNicks,SRO), a brother to Giant's Causeway (TrueNicks,SRO)
and New York sire Freud. The dam, a winner at 4 1/2 furlongs, is by Notebook. The
granddam is by the very good 2-year-old Copelan, and is a sister to the dam
of Free Handicap co-highweight Rulers Court, and half-sister to multiple graded
stakes winner Whata Brainstorm.

Another from the Storm Cat line is B+-rated Seattle Court. He is from the first crop of Consolidator (TrueNicks,SRO)
, a
fast early-season 2-year-old who lasted through the year to end up taking the
Lane’s End Breeders’ Futurity (gr. I), and then won the San Felipe Stakes (gr.
II) over Giacomo at 3. The dam is by Seattle Slew, out of a graded stakes-placed half-sister to multiple grade I winner Vicar.

The 11 1/2-length debut winner Jealous
Again is rated B. She is by one speed influence -- Trippi (by End
Sweep, a son of Forty Niner) -- out of a mare by another -- Bold Ruckus -- and has a
double of Raise a Native. The granddam was a stakes winner at up to 8 1/2 furlongs
in Canada. Similarly-rated at B is Kitty in the Bag,
who is from the first crop of Forest Wildcat’s grade I-winning son Wildcat Heir (TrueNicks,SRO)
. The dam is by top-notch sprinter Friendly Lover, out of Bag Lady
Jane, winner of Canada’s top juvenile event for 2-year-old fillies, the
Princess Elizabeth Stakes. Bag Lady Jane is half-sister to juvenile stakes
winner Deputy Storm (by another Storm Cat line horse, Forestry (TrueNicks,SRO)
), and out of
Canadian champion 2-year-old filly Deputy Jane West.

From the first crop ofOfflee Wild (TrueNicks,SRO)
(by
Wild Again, from the family of Dynaformer (TrueNicks,SRO)
), Heavenville weighs in at a C. He is
out of 2-year-old sprint stakes winner Seeking Heaven, a daughter of
Petionville. Another rated C is Western Smoke. He’s certainly bred to be
precocious and fast, as he’s by champion sprinter Smoke Glacken (TrueNicks,SRO)
, out of a mare
by champion 2-year-old Boston Harbor. The dam is half-sister to graded winner
Letgomyecho, and is out of stakes-placed Echo Echo Echo, daughter of
juvenile grade I winner Eastern Echo.

Kinsolving
is an example of a horse who doesn’t have a great nick rating -- he’s a D -- but whose clever pedigree redeems him. A son of Posse (TrueNicks,SRO)
, who had seven first-crop 2-year-old stakes winners, Kinsolving is out of a mare by the Saint Ballado
stallion Straight Man. What makes this interesting is that Posse is out of a
mare by Rahy, whose dam, champion Glorious Song, is a sister to Saint Ballado,
so Kinsolving has the sister and brother 4 x 3.
Also rated D is Aegean, who is
by the underrated Northern Afleet (TrueNicks,SRO)
out of a mare by the A.P. Indy (TrueNicks,SRO) son Aptitude (TrueNicks,SRO). Northern Afleet has not seen a lot of A.P Indy blood in his career to date, yet he has sired a stakes winner on the cross and the
granddam, Sweeping, by End Sweep, took the Florida Stallion/Desert Vixen Stakes at 2.